Absolute Carnage #5 of 5 Spoilers and Discussion

[Godzilla2099]

Been one heck of a ride.

spoilers:

Flashback years ago when Cletus is in his prison cell and he meets Eddie for the first time. Present time. Venom and Grendal Carnage are duking it out. Grendal Carnage is bragging how he can hear Knull is about to awake and knows Venom can too. The world is screwed and the heroes will die. Grendal Carnage says all it takes is to kill Venom and that will wake Knull. Eddie tells Cletus for once in his life, shut up. Eddie is going to take his symbiote back and if Carnage takes another look, the heroes aren't going down (Defenders arrive to back up Cap and his team.) Spider-Man defeats Carnage. The fight completely worn out Spider-Man. He faints from exhaustion. Grendal Carnage is still laughing claiming he won. The Carnage Symbiote rises from Norman about to attack the boys. Dylan goes postal and his powers activate. The Carnage Symbiote is a big red stain on the floor. Dylan also faints from exhaustion Venom and Grendal Carnage crash through the ceiling. Carnage is going for Dylan but Eddie is trying to stop him. Grendal Carnage tells him he won regardless. If Grendal Carnage kills Brock's Son, maybe its enough to wake Knull up, but if Venom kills Grendal Carnage and absorbs the original symbiote back, 100% Knull wakes up. Eddie realizes he was played. Either Carnage kills his son or Eddie kills the world. Eddie forms a black sword. "%^&* the world" and impales Carnage. Eddies Original Symbiote is panicking. Knull awakens. Spider-Man asks Venom if they won. Eddie response yes and is extremely grateful for Pete's Help. Norman is no longer there. Issue ends with an extremely shocked Dylan finding out Eddie isn't his brother, but his father

end of spoilers

Issue felt a little rushed but overall, I really enjoyed it along with this entire event. Easily my favorite in a very long time.

Pros:

- Twists I didn't see coming
- Venom vs Carnage. Upgraded Grendal Carnage vs Airwolf Venom. Glad to see a victor
- Ending left many doors open
- Parker/Brock Relationship. Definitely reminds me of the good brother helping the troubled/recovering one
- This issue was a big brawl which was welcomed. Cates usually focuses on story-weaving (which he is phenomenal at), but I was waiting for my big fight and I got it.

Cons: None really:

A little rushed with so much going on but I really liked it.
Lack of Sleeper: Little nitpick on my part. I was hoping to see more of him

[Hugo Strange]

I wonder if we'll see Norman in the next Web of Venom.

[RD155]

Enjoyed it. Just felt it wrapped everything up way too fast. This series would have benefited from either an extra issue or possibly making this one a double size. Whatever the case, this was an fun ride and I’m excited to see what comes next. Hopefully we get To see Spiderman and Venom side by side again soon because this is one really great evolution of their “friendship”.

[AndyKoopa]

Loved this issue!

I did find a couple of continuity issues distracting though.
-Spideys mask is ripped one scene then not the next.
-And Cap & Wolerine have sensors on their masks after not seeing before.


Aside from my nit picking, I loved it. Can’t wait to see where we go from here.

[Rzerox21xx]

Loved this issue!

I did find a couple of continuity issues distracting though.
-Spideys mask is ripped one scene then not the next.
-And Cap & Wolerine have sensors on their masks after not seeing before.


Aside from my nit picking, I loved it. Can’t wait to see where we go from here.

Stegman actually answered in a tweet of my nitpick of why Wolverine kept changing costumes in the whole event from brown to yellow blue shoulderpadded

[Lukmendes]

The lack of connection between the events of this issue and Venom is annoying, and you can't even blame editorial for this, since AC and Venom are both written by Cates lol.

The story was fun enough, but I feel that it started to get worse after a while, though I'll admit that I didn't expect Knull to actually be freed, very dumb for Eddie to tell Spidey they won.

Also, Spidey's mask magically not being ripped anymore at the end was weird.

Also I don't really understand what's Knull's situation, like, the other stories didn't make it look like he was in some slumber, he was awaken, just couldn't control the planet of symbiotes, but now he's "awakened" and is controlling everyone? Is this a retcon or did I miss somethin'?

[Jman27]

love the peter and Eddie bonding Dylan reminds me of Gohan having all this power even though he is a half-breed.

[WebSlingWonder]

Again, same with 2099 over in ASM: I was hyped at first, then I lost interest. These storylines are way too bloated for these books, especially this one. The lead-up was badass with the horror take like in Carnage Born, Cult of Carnage, and Venom Unleashed. But man that all but disappeared with this main title, and that's disappointing to all hell. I was really looking forward to this one, but I ultimately came away feeling like nothing different happened. The Marvel Universe is still very much the same and the only one majorly affected was Venom (naturally). So, it really didn't do anything.

Cates knows to do better.

[Ursalink]

How long will take Knull to arrive to Earth? If he pass next to the Kree, Skrull or Shiar Empires, he could have a conflict against them.

To defeat Knull, I'm afraid the only hope would be using another monster to defeat THIS monster: the Poisons. Don't you think?

[Lukmendes]

Again, same with 2099 over in ASM: I was hyped at first, then I lost interest. These storylines are way too bloated for these books, especially this one. The lead-up was badass with the horror take like in Carnage Born, Cult of Carnage, and Venom Unleashed. But man that all but disappeared with this main title, and that's disappointing to all hell. I was really looking forward to this one, but I ultimately came away feeling like nothing different happened. The Marvel Universe is still very much the same and the only one majorly affected was Venom (naturally). So, it really didn't do anything.

Cates knows to do better.

Crossovers hardly affect the setting much, so AC changing nothing is to be expected.

How long will take Knull to arrive to Earth? If he pass next to the Kree, Skrull or Shiar Empires, he could have a conflict against them.

To defeat Knull, I'm afraid the only hope would be using another monster to defeat THIS monster: the Poisons. Don't you think?

Considering it was Thor who defeated Knull last time by weakening his control over the symbiotes, and Cates will be now writing Thor, I think that Knull will become Thor's problem.

Hopefully not though, don't think Cates should be using the same guy everywhere, or it'd be similar to Bendis using The Hood...

[Desmark]

Maybe Kaiju Kid can command knull to sleep again.
This issue did feel a rehash of all the venom vs carnage fights without adding anything substantial to the fight. There's also the question why Carnage didn't absorb the 'Legion' symbiote as well. That would have fit in with the earlier horror tone of the first issue if both the symbiotes started to absorb each other with their tendrils ripping the host body apart as well and consuming it in the process ultimately resulting in a bloody pile of symbiote goo and flesh. Well wonder when we will see knull next; probably in some event book like the dark invasion or the coming of Knull or something.

[Snoop Dogg]

Crossovers hardly affect the setting much, so AC changing nothing is to be expected.



Considering it was Thor who defeated Knull last time by weakening his control over the symbiotes, and Cates will be now writing Thor, I think that Knull will become Thor's problem.

Hopefully not though, don't think Cates should be using the same guy everywhere, or it'd be similar to Bendis using The Hood...

https://www.cbr.com/donny-cates-marvel-thor-interview

So, almost every Marvel book I've done has been leading to Thor. Especially the cosmic stuff like; Thanos Wins, Death of the Inhumans, Silver Surfer Black, and Cosmic Ghost Rider.

Thor won't be all about the symbiotes and Knull though. I'm not going to say that those things will never intersect, but Thor begins a new chapter of the stories I'm writing at Marvel. Yes, it's a culmination of my Cosmic stuff, but don't expect it to tie into the Knull saga. That's a Venom plot line.

[Prof. Warren]

With my interest in AC getting a little fatigued in the last few issues, I didn't expect much from the finale but as it turns out I really dug it.

I liked that, in the end, the focus was very much on character. Eddie's decision at the end to take down Carnage, even though it meant unleashing Knull, was a very atypical end to an event. Eddie wins and yet loses and it's all about him making a decision from the heart. Another hero might have found a more ingenious way to resolve the situation and defeat Carnage and yet keep Knull imprisoned but Eddie isn't like that. His solution is blunt and emotionally driven and, in the end, will only lead to even bigger problems (which he purposely neglects to tell Peter when Peter asks if they won). That's strong writing on Cates' part, staying true to Eddie as a flawed hero. I also like that the very last bit of the book is about Dylan finally learning about his real connection to Eddie.

Again, it's different than the typical event ending in that, for all the wild action and high stakes and world-threatening predicaments, it all comes down to Eddie and Dylan and making us care about what's ahead for them as people.

This was a big thumbs up for me. As much as I was starting to get wearied midway through AC, I thought the conclusion ended it on a high note.

[Triniking1234]

I still have War of the Realms to catch up on. Slow down, MArvel.

[Lukmendes]

https://www.cbr.com/donny-cates-marvel-thor-interview

"So, almost every Marvel book I've done has been leading to Thor. Especially the cosmic stuff like; Thanos Wins, Death of the Inhumans, Silver Surfer Black, and Cosmic Ghost Rider.

Thor won't be all about the symbiotes and Knull though. I'm not going to say that those things will never intersect, but Thor begins a new chapter of the stories I'm writing at Marvel. Yes, it's a culmination of my Cosmic stuff, but don't expect it to tie into the Knull saga. That's a Venom plot line."

Ah, didn't know, and that's good to hear, thanks.